"I can't wait to eat this chicken leftover in a casserole!"
Leftovers can haunt you or help you. With a little forethought, that scary shelf on your refrigerator where the leftovers lurk can become the source of quick, easy, no-cost meals.
Instructions
Use Leftovers to Your Advantage
1. Browse cookbooks. Most of us get stuck in a rut, so we make the same few meals repeatedly. Go to a bookstore or the library and flip through some of those big, full-color recipe books and magazines. Jot down the titles of the recipes that especially appeal to you.
2. Stock your pantry. Let your recipe list (from Step 1) be your guide. If you marked a lot of pasta recipes, get a supply of different kinds of pasta, as well as tomato paste, olive oil, and garlic. If you jotted down Hispanic recipes, get tortillas, beans, salsa, and seasonings such as cumin, cilantro and chile peppers.
3. Know your options with leftovers. You can reheat and eat them again as they are, freeze them in portion-sized containers and use them later for lunches or a quick dinner or make something else out of them. When you've only got one portion left, it's a good idea to freeze it or just have it for lunch the next day. When you've got more to work with, you can make something else.
4. For leftover soup: Add rice, noodles, beans or potatoes to the original soup.Turn a clear soup into a cream soup by melting three tablespoons of butter, mixing it with three tablespoons of flour and 1/2 to 1 cup of cream and adding that mixture to the soup.Turn a vegetable soup into something heartier by dicing, pan frying, and seasoning the meat of your choice and adding it to the soup..Turn a chunky soup into a smooth, thick, creamy soup by using an immersion blender or stand blender on the original soup. Blend until creamy, then reheat and top with freshly chopped herbs.
5. For leftover meat: Dice leftover chicken and mix with a mayonnaise-based sauce for chicken salad. Serve on lettuce or on bread as a sandwich. Shred leftover roast beef or pork, mix with your favorite barbecue sauce and reheat. Serve on buns with baked beans on the side.Any kind of leftover meat can be a great taco flling. Just dice and season with cumin and cilantro, reheat, and add to your other taco fillngs of choice (lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa).Leftover ham makes a great omelet filling.
6. For leftover vegetables:Dice leftover, cooked vegetables, reheat them quickly and mix them with sweet and sour sauce. Serve over rice for a quick, healthy stir-fry meal. Curry sauce is another great option.Use leftover mashed potatoes for potato cakes. Heat oil or butter in a frying pan, shape the potatoes into balls and slightly flatten them, then fry for a few minutes on each side until browned and heated through. Great for breakfast with ham or bacon.Leftover salad fixings can go on a hoagie roll along with some deli meat and a slice of cheese for a gourmet sandwich.Make pasta and toss your leftover vegetables into the heated sauce just long enough to heat them up. Make risotto and add leftover mushrooms, peas, and a can of artichoke hearts. Top with grated parmesan.Make a quiche and add your leftover vegetables for a great, filling meal.
7. Leftover "bits and pieces":When you have little bits of vegetables and meat,
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